Cancer
Cancer affects millions of adults and children worldwide, and according to the Cancer Statistics 2006 published by the American Cancer Society, is the second leading cause of mortality in the United States today. It is a disease characterized by disorderly division of cells, combined with the malignant behavior of these cells.
Cancer therapy typically involves surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment. All of these approaches pose significant drawbacks for the patient. Surgery, for example, can pose a significant risk due to the patient's health or may otherwise be unacceptable to the patient. Additionally, surgery might not completely remove the neoplastic tissue. Radiation therapy can often elicit serious side effects. With respect to traditional chemotherapy, there can be many drawbacks. Almost all known chemotherapeutic agents are toxic, and chemotherapy can cause significant, and often dangerous, side effects, including severe nausea, bone marrow depression, immunosuppression, etc. Additionally, many tumor cells are resistant or develop resistance to chemotherapeutic agents through multi-drug resistance.
For the above reasons, there is a real need for novel compounds and compositions, and methods that are useful for treating cancer with either improved effect or reduced side effects.
CNS Diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases are caused by the deterioration of neurons, which over time lead to neurodegeneration and related physical manifestations. Neurodegenerative diseases can result from stroke, heat stress, head and spinal cord trauma, and bleeding that occurs in the brain, the pressure from which eventually causes the death of one or more neurons. Many times neuronal death begins long before the patient will ever experience any symptoms.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one common neurodegenerative disorder related to aging, and is characterized by progressive dementia and personality dysfunction. The abnormal accumulation of amyloid plaques in the vicinity of degenerating neurons and reactive astrocytes is a pathological characteristic of AD. As a leading cause of death in industrialized societies, AD affects a significant portion of the population over the age of 65, and considering the aging populations of Canada and the United States AD will no doubt become an escalating healthcare problem as the geriatric populations grow.
Much work remains in the quest to find an effective treatment for AD, and as such there remains a significant need for novel compounds and compositions, and methods that are useful for treating AD and other neurodegenerative diseases.